BILINGUAL - Mark Chan
BILINGUAL - Mark Chan
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I had the wonderful opportunity of working with two of the most prolific singer-songwriters in Singapore when I was in Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). One of them was Dick Lee. The other was Mark Chan.
I had known Mark for quite some time. We were the same age, from the same school and for a short time we served National Service in the Navy together.
At some point in time, he left Singapore to study in the UK. We kept in touch occasionally and by then, he was already writing a lot of music to the poetry that he composed.
He was starting his music career then and I featured him in several of my productions with the station. I also recommended his works to Tracy Huang who recorded one of his songs in Chinese.
I didn’t get a chance to see him after I left SBC and one day, out of the blue, he contacted me with a recording that blew my mind. China Blue was his very personal project that melded the Asian elements with his folk sensibilities. With the increasing interest in Asian music in Japan, which was started by Dick Lee, I thought that the album should be heard in Japan too.
I recommended it to one of the top entertainment companies in Japan who decided to sign Mark to a two-album contract. By then, he was already into the second phase of his music career and he concentrated more on instrumentals with a strong ethnic influence. What I missed most were his alluring and poetic folk compositions which were the focus of the TV special that I produced in 1984.
This special was the second episode of a 4 episode series which is all about Singaporean music. I was lucky that, given the weak support for local music, I was able to get the series approved. Episode one was called Home Song, a very big production featuring the works of Dick Lee and I wanted to contrast it with a quieter, more subtle show done in a mini-concert style. This show was called Hearts & Minds. For those of you who love folk music, this is a programme that you s
BILINGUAL - Talentime
BILINGUAL - Talentime
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As early as the 60s, long before “reality talent contests” started to dominate all entertainment platforms, audiences in Singapore were glued to television with a singing competition simply titled “Talentime”. It was a time when life was simpler and platforms to show off one's talent was limited and often restrictive. Not only were the winners rewarded with the fame they often sought, but even the finalists also became household names. Some became professional entertainers who formed the foundation of the Singapore pop music scene.
I remember watching Talentime as a primary school student and rooting for The Tidbits, three young girls who charmed their way to winning the 1967 edition of the contest with the song I Believe. And how can I forget contestants like TF Tan, EC Tan, Mah Choon Hong, Eunice Sim, Cynthia Lau (the first of many singing nurses in the contest every year), M Ismail, Marie Tang, Richard Ho (the guy who performed with his “singing” saw)? And even Johnny Tan, the ultra effeminate contestant who shocked audiences with his outlandish performance of My Bonnie. They were the unforgettable pioneers of Talentime.
The show was still an annual television fixture when I joined SBC in 1983. By then, there were four different versions in four different languages. I was lucky enough to be involved in two series – one Chinese and one English. The 1985/86 finals of the Chinese edition, which I produced, is available for viewing on Mediacorp’s meWATCH: Talentime 斗歌竞艺 - EP9.
I also produced the 1988 edition of English Talentime and it had three categories – solo singing, group singing and dance. It was hosted by Anita Harichandra and Jonathan Tan. I remember the late Bani Farook who deservingly won the contest with his confident jazzy delivery of a George Benson medley - This Masquerade and The Greatest Love Of All.
Two other young talents with the extremely good wholesome image also stood out. With the unde
Dick Lee & the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (1997)
Thanks for all the wonderful responses to The Mad Chinaman 30th Anniversary Concert!
Those at the concert are likely to be impressed by the amazing sound of the orchestra. It is always an amazing experience to watch a symphonic orchestra in action. In 1997, we had the opportunity of working with the SSO (Singapore Symphony Orchestra) in one of their first few pop music concerts. And playing the songs of Dick Lee , Singapore’s most iconic pop music composer, was a most appropriate tribute.
Admittedly, the venue at that time was not the most ideal – an arena styled venue called Harbour Pavilion (where Vivocity is now). But it was the only venue which could accommodate the anticipated audience size. We eventually sold out both shows and the concert was recorded and televised on TCS (now Mediacorp).
The concert featured Dick’s wide spectrum of music compositions and the number of guests artists featured was one of the strong selling points for the show .
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I have included two interesting clips here:
1. Paradise In My Heart
Dick used to write English songs which were later translated and recorded in a different language. Paradise In My Heart originally recorded by Tracy Huang in English became a huge hit for Sandy Lam when she recorded this as a Cantonese song. This rare clip features both original singers performing this song with Dick.
2. Rasa Sayang
Rasa Sayang is another of Dick’s most notable songs. Although he is not the writer of Rasa Sayang, the new treatment he gave to the famous folk song included a fun rap. Incredible as it sounds, SSO lived up to the challenge of performing a rap item.
There are so many highlights to this concert that are worth revisiting. So we will post the entire show on our BiLingual Youtube channel for your viewing pleasure! Watch it here: https://youtu.be/K_XFus4QVlk
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 3 - 1)
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 3 - 1)
3. 姜鄠 - 爱的狂想曲 (Rhapsody Of Love)
词：吴庆康
曲：陈志群
I fell in love with this song instantly and decided to film a music video of the song. For that extra special touch, I was lucky to be able to have the permission of the drama unit to feature the beautiful Chen Li Ping, then a new actress, as the female lead in this video.
Apart from the beach scene, most of the location shots were done in an apartment near Newton. The awesome interior sky window and the detailed façade of the building’s exterior inspired shots from very interesting angles.
In the night sequence, we shot at the Tang Hotel (now the Marriot Hotel) and you can even see the old standalone Lido Theatre in the background.
The full day of shoot and many hours of post production editing really paid off as this turned out to be one of the music videos that I am really proud of.
2. 吴佳明 - 夜的眩晕 （Allure of the night）
词: 梁文福
曲: 梁文福
In the words and music of Liang Wen Fu, the night weaves a magical spell that cuddles with it’s intoxicating allure. Night is indeed the best time to bravely confront feelings that you may choose to avoid in the bustle of the day. In its quiet understated way, this ballad does the above with an effortless charm.
Although 许南盛is the original singer, this version by吴佳明is equally outstanding.Wu is one of the most underrated singer and his very clean, pitch perfect vocal style makes him one of the best in the business. These days he seems happier as a vocal producer and musician and his stage singing is much missed.
1. 李律齐 (Richie Ricardo) - 继续飞向远方的天际（Fly On To A Distant Sky）
词：陈佳明
曲：黎沸辉
My favourite local composition is probably a surprise because it is a relatively unknown song overlooked even by the composers themselves.
While working on the Richie Ricardo album, I had requested for a love song with
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 6 - 4)
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 6 - 4)
6. 李律齐 (Richie Ricardo) - 仲夏夜 (Mid Summer Night)
词：吴庆康
曲：陈志群
This song was written by two popular Xinyao names – Ng King Kang and Samuel Tan. While Ng King Kang, who currently mingles with the jet-set as an editor of a high end lifestyle magazine, was a prolific lyricist who specialized in ultra romantic serenades, Samuel Tan, on the other hand, is a relatively low profile composer who seems happier doing orchestral arrangements for all genres of music. I have always liked the works of both talents; individually and as a team.
In the 80s, the singer Richie Ricardo was a very big star in Indonesia with hit movies and best selling recordings. He was popular amongst the Malay pop music communities in Malaysia and Singapore.
I had the opportunity to help Richie plan his debut Mandarin album in 1983. We put together a wonderful collection of original songs from writers like Angus Tung (童安格) , Eric Moo（巫启贤）, Dick Lee，Roy Li（黎沸挥）and Chen Jia Min（陈佳明). In fact, Tracy Huang (黄莺莺) helped to come up with his Chinese name ! And his image was styled by renown local designer Yang Derong. Everyone thought that his clean-cut sunshine-boy image would work in a market that was leaning towards young Japanese teenage idols. (Sorry, K-pop was non existent in the 80s.)
But it was not to be and while Richie remained a big star in Indonesia, the Mandarin recording did not really take off beyond Singapore. But it remained one of my favourites for its collection of catchy pop selection which still sounds good today – like this ode to starry-eyed young lovers on a mid Summer night .
5. 姜鄠 - 恋之憩 (Interlude Of Love)
词: 梁文福
曲: 梁文福
It is not an exaggeration to call Liang Wen Fu; equally known for his lyrics and song writing, the Godfather of Xinyao.
While his keen observation of the vernacular is reflected in many of the fun lyr
*** CONCERT TICKETS GIVEAWAY ***
The Mad Chinaman, both the person and the recording, started Music & Movement.
When Dick Lee, the man behind The Mad Chinaman, received a surprise offer to start a recording career in Japan, he needed to have a management company to work with Warner Music KK, the Japanese recording company that signed him. It was not the their practise to work directly with the artists.
I was about to leave my position as a producer with Singapore Broadcasting Corporation when Dick approached me to manage the company. So, by default, I became his first manager, a position I held for more than 20 years.(wow, almost a third of my life!)
The journey with M&M was great - there were lots of new adventures here and abroad and we had our share of success and flops. But through it all, the aim of M&M remains clear and steadfast to this day - to bring wonderful entertaining productions to audiences and to do all we can for Singapore's entertainment talents.
Well, The Mad Chinaman (the recording) is 30 years old. So is M&M.
While we celebrated our 30th anniversary by creating this page to share our journey so far, Dick will be celebrating with a special concert with the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra & The Joy Chorale!
Dick’s stage charisma has been enjoyed by audiences all over the world and I thought it may be fun to invite one of our Facebook supporters to the concert to witness it first hand. Dick has generously agreed and so we have ONE PAIR of TICKETS for the lucky person who....
- LIKE this post
- COMMENT on this post
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*The lucky winner will be announced next Wednesday (11 September)!
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 9 - 7)
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 9 - 7)
9. 李伟菘 - 家和万事兴 (Happy Family)
词:祁哲泉
曲:李伟菘
This is the theme song to a SBC drama series in the 80s. The title is a well known sagely Chinese saying that teaches us that only a unified family can bring joy and harmony to all its members.
Composer Li Weisong did a great job of writing a catchy tune that, when coupled with a warm, light bossanova arrangement, distinguished it from TV theme songs of that era. This makes the rather didactically clichéd lyrics a lot more palatable. The original singer of the song is Tracy Huang but since I have already featured a clip of Tracy performing that song in an earlier posting, here is the composer giving a rare performance of the song!
8. 陈全 John Chen - 永恒的回忆 (The Eternal Memory)
词: Medley & Friends
曲: 陈全
John (well, at least that's what I remember him as), had very interesting melodies but he did not really pursue music as his main career. Hence he only published very few songs in his short music career.
I like this song for its melody despite the fact that the lyrics were predictable and clichéd. I was given the backing music of the song and had arranged for several other singers to cover this song in the LFSO series. The original version was collected in a compilation project and John was the original singer. This is a rare television clip of his performance. Sometimes, I wonder what talents like John are doing now and if they ever miss their stint in the music scene.
7. 巫启贤 - 回忆的长街 (Long Street Of Memories)
词: 木子
曲: 黎沸揮
Another song that stands out for its impressive jazz inflected music arrangement. In rich lyrical metaphors, the song talks about memories of love. I especially like the first few lines of the song that likens memories to an endless long street. This is so true when you have experienced enough of life to formed a network of streets that crisscrosses and branches out into di
- BILINGUAL - Xinyao Favourite 12! (No. 12 - 10)
In the 80s, most of the songs selection in a variety show like Live From Studio One (LFSO) were done by the producers. Of course, record labels which provided the artists usually have requests or suggestions of songs. But, stubborn by nature, I would usually choose songs that I like rather than the recommended songs. So I actually end up with a collection of artists singing less familiar B-side songs which I will share in this column at later dates.
The same applies when it comes to Xinyao. While preparing for this column, I had the opportunity of going through 80% of the all the productions that I had done and I thought it might be fun to do a top 12 list of my favourite Xinyao songs that I have filmed on LFSO. Please note that this is a very biased personal selection that is dependent on the recording that I managed to find. Hopefully, they can bring back some good memories or enable you to discover some great “old” songs which you may have missed when you were younger.
八十年代的我有一点点年少无知，常常以为自己听歌的品味很好。 对音乐有一定的执着。 每逢筹备节目歌单时， 就会尽量选一些自己喜欢的歌。 拍起来才有感觉。 因此常常挖苦唱片公司的公关。 他／她们要求的主打歌， 我未必会选。 还常常要求知名度高的歌手上节目。不过当时还常如愿以偿。 现在想起来，真的不可思议 。 在这里向辛苦的大哥大姐们的体谅说声谢谢。
最近再次重温以前的作品时， 看到一些我曾经拍过的音乐片段。 发现有很多新谣歌曲我还真的瞒喜欢。 不管当时流不流行， 我还是昭拍。 原因就是我喜欢。 在未来的五个星期会在这里和大家分享我自己最喜欢的十二首本地创作的歌曲。
希望能够带来一些温馨的集体回忆。 对于一些你们没有听过的歌，也希望有一些迟来的惊喜。
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12. 刘瑞政 - 歌者的独白 (A Singer’s Solil
Live From Studio One – The National Day 1986 (Episode 5)
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Live From Studio One – The National Day Edition (1986)
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Live From Studio One was Singapore’s answer to Hong Kong’s iconic variety show - Enjoy Yourself Tonight. It started out as a weekly live show on Fridays, progressed to three days a week when popularity rose and eventually became a daily prime time weekday live show.
During my stint in SBC, I did several seasons of the program. It was a hot bed for the training of new producers and I had the opportunity to create new ideas and formats for each season – ranging from music videos to travelogue to movie reviews to sponsored games/quiz segments (a necessary evil which I disliked tremendously even though they pay the bills for the station). This project gave me a chance to brush up on my Chinese and offered the golden opportunity of working with some of the biggest regional stars. For all these, I am grateful to the late Mr William Lee for not only bringing this entertainment format from Hong Kong but also having the belief and confidence to take me under his personal supervision. He boldly put me live on the production panel barely three month after I joined the station.
To give you a taste of what a variety show was like in the 80s, I have posted an entire episode of the show. To make it relevant, this is a special National Day edition televised on 6/8/1986. The entire show featured local Chinese compositions; most of them by new composers of that time. Some of these composers are regional names today while others have left the music scene a long time ago. No matter who and where they are today, it is nice to know that they all played a part in weaving this fabric of Singapore Chinese pop music which we call Xinyao.
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缤纷八三 － 一九八六年八月六日 国庆版本
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八十年代的缤纷八三是本地电视娱乐的一项重要发展。 从开始的每周一次到后来的五次就能知道节目受欢迎的程度。
当年我也制作了几个系列的
It Takes Two (1984)
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Dick Lee & Jacintha - It Takes Two (1984)
If Eric Moo, Jane Li and Tracy Huang were the artists who appeared most in my Chinese language TV shows, then Dick Lee, Jacintha and Tracy Huang were the equivalent in the English language ones. Tracy is effectively bilingual and, given her regional popularity, it is always an honour to be able to have her participate in any shows.
In 1984, I produced a four-part series titled “Singers and Their Songs”. This series, which was all about Singaporean music, was a dream project for me because supporting local music was one of the reasons for my joining of SBC.
The third episode of the series, titled “Off The Record”, focused on locally written songs that were featured on recordings by Singaporean artists. I was lucky to capture some of the most iconic songs performed by the original singers! I will share some of these videos later but for today, it is Dick Lee and Jacintha whom I have the honour to continue to work with for many decades after I left SBC.
Dick & Ja’s “It Takes Two” is one of the most beautifully written and performed duet of our time. It was featured on Jacintha’s landmark 1983 album titled “Silence”.
Love songs never grow old and, after all these years, that bittersweet message that it takes two to make or break a relationship still rings true!
“It takes two to say goodbye forever
Two to see it can’t go on
Two to make it last for long
But only one to realise that it takes two.”
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Live Inside Your Love – Jane Li & Yeow (1988)
I spent 7 years (1982 – 1989) as a producer in the Variety unit of the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). It was there that I became totally bilingual, alternating between the Chinese and the English divisions. It was a privileged position that was unique even in the early stages of SBC.
Those were wonderful years and a lot of creative freedom was given to the producers. Sure, there were regulations that we had to adhere to but as long as you do not break any big rules (like featuring male singers with long unkempt hairstyles and singers wearing dark sunglasses), you pretty much could inject a lot of fresh and interesting ideas into your shows.
From those early days, I had an inexplicably clear calling which shaped the direction of the programs that I produced. I wanted to experiment with new ideas, to feature more local music and to create more young idols (something that was taking place in entertainment scenes all over Asia except Singapore). And, somewhere at the back of my mind, I think that in a unique city like Singapore, there is a place for bilingual programs to appeal to a new generation of audiences. As my second language was Chinese, my choice was naturally Chinese and English. And my colleagues can look after bilingual shows in the other languages.
This song: - Live Inside Your Love - was originally a Japanese –English song recorded by Naoko Kawai (河合奈保子) and Jackie Chan (成龙) in the 80s. At that time, I thought that it was a perfect template for a bilingual song. Hence I invited local lyricist Ng King Kang (吴庆康) to write a set of Chinese lyrics and the completed song was featured on Jane Li’s Night & Day album released in the same year.
Using two performers with idol potential, I contrasted the innocence of Jane Li with the rebellious stance of Yeow (the guitarist of Chris Ho’s group Zircon Lounge). Thankfully, the song was well received and was lat
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